Syracuse neighbors concerned about talk of 110-unit apartment complex near Syracuse University

This article written by contributing writer Greg Mason

Neighbors living on Lancaster Avenue in Syracuse are worried about a proposal to build 110 studio and single-bedroom apartments on properties owned by the Syracuse Catholic Diocese and a church.

Camex Management Group has proposed a three, three-story apartment building complex and a 212-space parking lot, according to Ben Walsh, the city?s deputy director of neighborhood and business development.

The housing?s target market would be graduate students and professors, he said.

The diocese and All Saints Church are asking for $595,000 for the Bishop Harrison Center at 1342 Lancaster Ave., and two nearby properties, 220 and 301 Haffenden Road. The center, a former Catholic elementary school, is owned by the diocese; the parish owns the other two properties.

Camex is proposing renovating the Bishop Harrison Center and building two new buildings, Walsh said.

Paul Cappuccilli, who is with Camex, outlined his proposal to city staff, Walsh said. The proposal is in the developmental phase; no one has an option to buy the property yet, he said.

Cappuccilli told The Post-Standard his proposal is ?very preliminary;? he declined to discuss the project in more detail.

Neighbors are concerned that student housing in the largely single-family neighborhood may lead to parking and traffic problems.

Stephen Mitchell, a resident on Haffenden Road, wrote in a letter to the diocese saying that apartments would make the area ?a less desirable place to live and raise a family.?

Danielle Cummings, director of communications for the diocese, said the neighbors? concerns are being considered.

?Our intent is to have the best fit for the neighborhood as well as the parish and the diocese,? she said.

Rev. Frederick Daley, pastor of All Saints Church, 1340 Lancaster Ave., said the parish and diocese would have difficulty with student housing on the property.

?We would not support any project that would have a negative impact on the neighborhood, ? he said.

The property is zoned RA-1 residential, the most restrictive of Syracuse?s zoning codes, Walsh said. A developer would have to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals to get a variance or a change of use permit, Walsh said.

Walsh said there is another developer who has told the city he is interested in the property, Stephen Capella of V.C. Associates.

Capella said he would want to add a second floor to Bishop Harrison building and create 24 to 26 apartments. The housing would be targeted toward people 50 years old or older, he said.

?We?re still looking to go forward,? Capella said.

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/syracuse_neighbors_concerned_a.html

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